NHL Network Skates Toward Playoffs With Programming Specials

NHL Network is gearing up for the league’s playoff season with a baker’s dozen worth of hours of coverage from Sunday through Tuesday. The battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup commences Wednesday April 9.

Sunday features three editions of NHL On The Fly and a pair of Pacific Division match-ups, featuring a trio of playoff-bound squads. At 3 p.m. (ET), the San Jose Sharks travel to Dallas to skate against the Stars. The league’s hottest team, the Sharks have won 18 of their last 21 games, accumulating 38 of a possible 42 points over that stretch.

At 5:30 p.m., NHL Network will air NHL On The Fly, before presenting the Phoenix-Coyotes at the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks at 8 p.m.

On Monday, NHL Network presents three hours of pre-playoffs programming airing simultaneously in Canada on TSN. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. with McGuire’s Monsters, followed by the Fantasy Draft Special at 7:30 p.m. and the Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery Special at 8 p.m., when NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly will reveal which team will select first overall in the upcoming draft. At 8:30 p.m., the network will drop the puck on a 90-minute NHL on TSN Playoff Preview Special with in-depth analysis of each playoff series.

On Tuesday, NHL Network will produce and televise NHL On The Fly: Playoff Preview as host Dan Pollard and analysts Gary Green and Dave Reid preview all eight playoff series and offer their playoffs predictions.

In the U.S., NHL Network is currently available through a free-preview through April 11 via select cable providers and on DirecTV channel 215.